German - Greetings & Openings

Lesson 1 of 158

A friendly scene showing two people greeting each other in German; a visual for learning basic German greetings.

Goal: Basic ways to say hello, ask names, and start a short chat

Free German lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Welcome! This is Lesson 1 — your friendly start into German greetings. Yak Yacker lessons work like this: listen to short phrases, practice with quick exercises, then say them out loud.

Today we'll meet the most useful openings for everyday situations. Keep it light and have fun — greetings are your fast track to friendly conversations.

Level A1: In this short lesson you'll practice common German greetings and simple opening phrases (Hallo, Guten Morgen, Wie heißt du?, Ich bin ___., and more). We focus on when to use each phrase and on saying them aloud so you can start conversations right away. This lesson is CEFR-aligned and perfect for your first steps in small talk.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Recognize and use 13 everyday German greetings and opening phrases.
  • Ask and answer simple questions like Wie heißt du? and Wie geht's dir?
  • Know when to use Guten Morgen / Guten Abend / Guten Tag.
  • Practice saying these phrases aloud to build confidence (Level A1).
Learners practicing German greetings like Hallo, Guten Morgen, and Wie heißt du? in a bright café setting.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

Hallo

Hello.

Meaning: Hello.

When to use: Standard greeting in Germany; works in most everyday situations.

Hallo, wie geht's?
Hello, how are you?
Hallo! Schön dich zu sehen.
Hello! Nice to see you.

Hi

Hi.

Meaning: Hi.

When to use: Casual and very common in spoken German when you talk to friends or peers.

Hi Anna, alles klar?
Hi Anna, all good?
Hi! Kommst du heute?
Hi! Are you coming today?

Guten Morgen.

Good morning.

Meaning: Good morning.

When to use: Used in the morning; polite and common in workplaces, shops, and schools.

Guten Morgen! Hast du gut geschlafen?
Good morning! Did you sleep well?
Guten Morgen, Frau Müller.
Good morning, Mrs. Müller.

Guten Tag.

Good afternoon.

Meaning: Good afternoon.

When to use: Common polite daytime greeting; in the evening use Guten Abend instead.

Guten Tag, kann ich helfen?
Good afternoon, can I help?
Guten Tag! Wie kann ich Ihnen dienen?
Good day! How can I help you?

Guten Abend.

Good evening.

Meaning: Good evening.

When to use: Used as a greeting in the evening; polite in formal and casual situations.

Guten Abend! Schön, dass Sie da sind.
Good evening! Nice that you are here.
Guten Abend, wie war dein Tag?
Good evening, how was your day?

Wie geht's dir?

How are you?

Meaning: How are you?

When to use: Informal (du). Use Wie geht es Ihnen? for formal situations.

Tip: Don't use this with strangers in formal contexts; use the formal version instead.

Wie geht's dir? Alles gut bei dir?
How are you? Everything okay with you?
Hey, wie geht's dir heute?
Hey, how are you today?

Gut, danke.

I'm good, thanks.

Meaning: I'm good, thanks.

When to use: Short, natural response to Wie geht's dir? or similar questions.

Gut, danke. Und dir?
I'm good, thanks. And you?
Gut, danke — der Tag war ruhig.
I'm good, thanks — the day was calm.

Ich bin ___.

I'm ___.

Meaning: I'm ___.

When to use: Natural for giving your name in conversation; also common: Ich heiße ___.

Tip: Beginners sometimes say 'Mein Name ist ...' which is fine; 'Ich bin ...' is very natural in speech.

Ich bin Anna.
I'm Anna.
Hallo, ich bin David.
Hello, I'm David.

Wie heißt du?

What's your name?

Meaning: What's your name?

When to use: Informal (du). For formal ask Wie heißen Sie? or Wie ist Ihr Name?.

Wie heißt du? Ich heiße Anna.
What's your name? I'm called Anna.
Wie heißt du? Darf ich fragen?
What's your name? May I ask?

Kann ich dazukommen?

Can I join you?

Meaning: Can I join you?

When to use: Good for joining a group or conversation politely; for sitting: Kann ich mich dazusetzen?

Entschuldigung, kann ich dazukommen?
Excuse me, can I join you?
Wir sind zu dritt, kann ich dazukommen?
We're three, can I join?

Hey

Hey.

Meaning: Hey.

When to use: Informal greeting, common in casual spoken German.

Hey! Lange nicht gesehen.
Hey! Long time no see.
Hey, was machst du gerade?
Hey, what are you doing right now?

Bist du ___?

Are you ___?

Meaning: Are you ___?

When to use: Use informally to check you are speaking to the right person; formal on the phone: Sind Sie ___?

Bist du Anna?
Are you Anna?
Bist du der neue Kollege?
Are you the new colleague?

Hast du kurz Zeit?

Do you have a minute?

Meaning: Do you have a minute?

When to use: Start a short interaction politely (informal); formal: Haben Sie kurz Zeit?

Hast du kurz Zeit? Ich habe eine Frage.
Do you have a minute? I have a question.
Hast du kurz Zeit, um zu sprechen?
Do you have a minute to talk?

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna meets David at a café and they greet each other, ask how they are, and exchange names.

Anna and David saying Hallo and asking names and how they are, illustrating simple conversational openings.

What are Anna and David doing?

Portrait of Anna in a German lesson dialogue

Anna

Hallo

Hello!

Portrait of David in a German lesson dialogue

David

Hey, guten Morgen!

Hey, good morning!

Portrait of Anna in a German lesson dialogue

Anna

Wie geht's dir?

How are you?

Portrait of David in a German lesson dialogue

David

Gut, danke. Und dir?

I'm good, thanks. And you?

Portrait of Anna in a German lesson dialogue

Anna

Ich bin Anna. Wie heißt du?

I'm Anna. What's your name?

Portrait of David in a German lesson dialogue

David

Ich bin David.

I'm David.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which phrase means 'Good evening'?

If you want to politely join a table, which phrase do you use?

Which is an informal way to say 'How are you?'

You meet someone in the morning. Which greeting fits best?

You say 'Guten Tag.' to be polite during the day.

You see a friend at noon and say '___' to be polite.

You reply 'Gut, danke.' when someone asks how you are.

Someone asks 'Wie geht's dir?' You answer '___'.

You ask 'Wie heißt du?' to find out someone's name.

You meet someone new and ask their name: '___'

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

Hallo

Hello.

Say this phrase out loud:

Hi

Hi.

Say this phrase out loud:

Guten Morgen.

Good morning.

Say this phrase out loud:

Guten Tag.

Good afternoon.

Say this phrase out loud:

Guten Abend.

Good evening.

Say this phrase out loud:

Wie geht's dir?

How are you?

Say this phrase out loud:

Gut, danke.

I'm good, thanks.

Say this phrase out loud:

Ich bin ___.

I'm ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

Wie heißt du?

What's your name?

Say this phrase out loud:

Kann ich dazukommen?

Can I join you?

Say this phrase out loud:

Hey

Hey.

Say this phrase out loud:

Bist du ___?

Are you ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

Hast du kurz Zeit?

Do you have a minute?